ISBN 978-83-60412-50-2

Copyright © 2013 Potrus Publishing, Inc.

All rights reserved. Published by Potrus Publishing, an imprint of Potrus Publishing. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, whitout written permission from the publisher.

It was winter. The fluffy snowflakes twirled in the air and fell to the ground, covering it with a white blanket. The streets were full of people with fur hats on their heads hurrying to get back to their warm homes. In all the confusion caused by the Christmas holidays, nobody noticed the little girl that stood on the edge of the pavement, dressed in a torn dress. The girl held a few matchstick boxes in her hand. She was holding them out to the passersby, trying to encourage them to buy a box.

“Sir, maybe you need a box of matches?” she asked quietly. “These are really good matches and they are very, very cheap.”

A cold wind blew. The sweet smell of cake and roasted turkeys was all around. Everyone was happily saying goodbye to the old year. Only the little match girl was cold and hungry. She didn’t have enough strength to go on any further. She sat in a corner by the wall bringing her knees up to her chest. It wasn’t the best shelter but at least she couldn’t be lashed by the cold wind here.